Evolution
by creativetherapy
Summary: A look at the evolution of Spencer and Avery's relationship, from initial spark to steady burn. A light continuation of my Spencer/ Avery arc, focused more on them. Rated M for later chapters. A complimentary piece to the arc started in "Coincidence"
1. Chapter 1

_Pros: Cons:_

Doctor Spencer Reid tapped his pencil against the notepad, feeling ridiculous and even somewhat guilty. It wasn't that decisiveness was a problem for him. On the contrary; once he had made up his mind on a subject, it was very difficult to sway him. However, all aspects of a question must be carefully considered for a conclusion to be reached, and Avery Mitchell was a complex and nuanced quandary indeed.

The past few weeks had unfurled in a mess of confusion. What had begun as a grisly but routine investigation into a series of murders took an unexpected turn when they implicated the last person on Earth Reid might have expected. Avery Mitchell had been a stranger to him, then (moreso than she was now); an affable, magnetic woman with whom he had happened to enjoy a silent the evening before.

Reid cringed to himself as he remembered how terrible Avery's interrogation had gone; how he had insisted on her implication, despite the profile and lack of evidence. The memory of her face, pale and horrified at the sight of the crime scene photos, was etched into his brain.

 _Pro: Forgiving._

It had taken a surprise late-night delivery of Chinese food and a sincere apology to convince her to speak to him. If Spencer were being honest, he was surprised that was all it took. He stifled a smile at the memory of Avery closing her gallery and leading him to her office, where they picnicked in desk chairs over sketches and paperwork.

 _Con: Likes grunge, punk revival_

Spencer tapped the pencil tip against the paper, dissatisfied with his addition. It felt petty.

 _Pro: Likes Tom Waits, Marcel Mouloudji, Nouvelle Chanson_

"Fair is fair." He thought, considering the extensive CD collection visible in Avery's office. He could appreciate her varied interests. In fact, he found it fascinating. For what seemed like the hundredth time, he replayed the evening in perfect clarity. Their conversation flowed easily and exuberantly, punctuated with laughter and threaded together by

 _Pro: her smile_

Spencer was almost surprised to read the words back, written in his own hand. It hardly seemed like worth listing, but as the night replayed, it was a highlight he couldn't ignore. Like the way he smiled whenever she answered his calls, though the subject was hardly flirtatious.

Once again, he stifled a smile, his spirits falling as the reality of the situation set in.

 _Con: Involved in case._

"It's not exactly a deal breaker," he thought, remembering the handful of women he had met during cases. The difference between them and Avery was that distance had limited their relationships to little more than the occasional phone call.

 _Con: Involved in case._

He wrote again, counting it twice. Spencer tapped the tip of his pencil against the paper, feeling hollow, knowing the weight of the single con counted more than anything else he could write in the opposing column. Avery's direct connection to the case made things difficult, especially since they had met before it all started. Though young, the doctor was no longer a stranger to the nuances of courtroom politics and the ability of good defense attorneys to use unrelated circumstances to cast shadows of doubt on a charge. It was this knowledge that kept him from being anything other than professional in his phone calls to her since their evening together.

"Reid." Agent Dave Rossi's voice shook the doctor from his thoughts and he looked up.

"Yeah." He acknowledged his superior, slipping the pad of paper into his desk drawer.

"Working on something?" Rossi asked as he leaned against the corner of Reid's desk.

"Uh, no." Spencer answered, trying to lean back cavalierly as he cleared his throat.

Rossi nodded, knowing the young man was hiding something and choosing to overlook the fact.

"How was court?" Spencer asked, knowing Rossi followed cases closer than the other agents, going so far as to attend court dates whenever possible.

Rossi nodded. "Hannah plead guilty." He informed Reid. "On all charges. All that's left is sentencing."

Reid nodded, taking in the information.

"Avery was there." Dave mentioned, studying the man opposite him carefully, searching for a reaction. Reid, tellingly, gave none, remaining neutrally stoic.

"I thought you'd like to know." he continued casually, smirking slightly.

Reid shrugged casually, the pencil bobbing between his fingers. "Thanks."

The older agent nodded, standing and continuing across the bullpen, toward his office.

Spencer Reid watched him go, waiting til he disappeared into his office before moving. He leaned forward in his chair once again, reaching for the handle of his desk drawer. He paused, the revelation rolling around in his head. He chewed the inside of his lower lip, bouncing the pencil against the desk before dropping it, his other hand abandoning the desk drawer-pull as he reached for his cell phone.

He dialed the familiar number nervously.

"Hi."

Spencer caught himself smiling as Avery's voice answered the phone.

"Uh...hi." He composed himself. "It's, uh – it's me. Rossi said he saw you in court."

"Yeah." Avery responded. "Yeah, I was there."

"Yeah." Spencer replied, unsure what he was agreeing to. He took a breath, deciding first to address the professional questions he assumed she'd have. "So... now Bobby Hannah will await sentencing, and -"

"Spencer, do you want to have dinner?" Avery's voice nervously interrupted, knocking the agent off guard.

"Uh..." He opened his mouth, a dry chuckle catching in his throat.

"I'm sorry." Avery apologized awkwardly. Spencer imagined her, her face flushed, grinning in embarrassment. He grinned.

"I just... I didn't want to wait and hope you'd ask me." She explained. "I mean, when we met... at the theater... and I wanted you to ask for my number, and you didn't even ask my last name, and..." She trailed off, aware she had started to yammer.

"Don't be sorry." Spencer assured her. He slid the desk drawer open, ripping the page out of the notepad. Without bothering to look at it, he crumpled it, tossing it idly into the garbage bin beneath his desk. "I'd... I'd _really_ love to have dinner with you."


	2. Chapter 2

"This is a nice place." Avery said, sitting down and looking around at the little bistro. "I've never been here before."

"It's..." Spencer started, nodding before realizing he had no idea what to say "nice." he finished lamely.

Avery nodded, tapping a finger on the table as an awkward silence fell between them. Spencer fidgeted in his seat.

"So..." Avery began, with no clear thought to finish the sentence.

"So." Spencer repeated. "Hannah's court date has been set for sentencing-"

Avery winced at the name. Spencer stopped talking.

"I -" She started. "Would you mind... if we didn't talk about that."

Spencer tapped his finger on the table, nodding stiffly. "Sure. Sorry."

"It's just -"

"No," Spencer dismissed her, smiling. "No, I understand. Completely."

"Thanks." She said appreciatively.

The silence fell between them again. Spencer cleared his throat, consciously trying not to fidget in his seat. Avery took a breath.

"You seem nervous." She said empathetically, smiling gently.

Spencer nodded, "I'm not exactly... used to this." He tried to laugh his inexperience off, with little success. "You?"

Avery grinned, relieved she wasn't the only one with nerves. Spencer smiled, despite himself.

"It's been a while since I've been on a first date." She admitted.

"I'm not sure what you're supposed to talk about." He remarked, her admission making him feel less self-conscious.

"Um.." Avery thought, holding up her hands and counting a list off on her fingers. "Well, usually, you'd talk about what you do, and I'd talk about what I do, where we went to school... but we've already covered that. Then there's... favorite movies. Favorite shows. Favorite books. Art."

"Also covered." Spencer nodded.

"Favorite music?" She suggested.

"You like Marcel Mouloudji." The young doctor recalled.

"Right, and you collect vinyl." She grinned and shrugged. "That's it, that's all I've got. We've covered all first-date-approved topics."

"Are we moving too fast if we skip to second-date topics?" Spencer suggested, far more at ease.

"Well, I think this kind of counts as a second date." Avery said. "I mean, with dinner -."

"And the movie when we met." He said.

"Did that count?" She asked in mock seriousness. Spencer nodded.

"I think it did." He said gravely.

"Well, excellent." The woman said decidedly. "So we are officially past the awkward first date dinner, which means..."

"We don't have to sit here and make polite small talk while we push food around on our plates that neither of us is really hungry for in the first place." Spencer finished

"You wanna go for a walk?" Avery suggested, relieved at the idea.

"The park is nice this time of year." Spencer suggested.

The two stood, turning and heading toward the exit.

"Oh, you know what I got in the mail today?" Avery remembered as Spencer held the door for her. "The Life and Career of William Hartnell."

"You haven't read it?" He sounded surprised. "You'll like it. It's really well researched. You know his granddaughter wrote it."

"That's what I read." Avery nodded as they disappeared through the doors, walking comfortably down the street in the direction of the park as they talked.

Spencer had never been one for small talk. Topics that couldn't be covered in-depth didn't seem worth discussing, and his version of in-depth typically left everyone else vacant and glassy-eyed. It was a difference he noticed in Avery. She watched him as he spoke, her expression present and engaged. She smiled when he rambled, but didn't stop him, instead listening indulgently until he had finished his thought, and often commenting on something he said.

She laughed easily, and smiled often; warm and open, as though inviting the world to be the place she had decided it could be. Spencer found it hard not to smile as he talked to her, realizing the expression in her green eyes was nearly enough to carry a conversation. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered how long it would take to memorize and understand the glints and flecks and wordless messages they sent. He was a quick study. Did he want to be?

The hours slid swiftly and silently by like the sun over the treetops of the park. The cool of the evening began to settle and they slipped into a coffee shop long enough to get warm and order drinks, having exhausted the park and moved on to the city streets.

"Whoever invented the coffee date was brilliant." Avery remarked offhandedly, taking her tea from the barrista at the counter. "Give your hands something to hold so you're not wondering what to do with them all evening."

Spencer smirked as he took a long drag of his coffee, glad he wasn't the only one who became hyper-aware of his hands when he was nervous.

The breeze picked up in the late evening, sending leaves scudding in clumsy cartwheels down the street, in and out of the reach of the streetlights. Spencer and Avery walked slowly next to each other.

"It's getting late." Avery remarked casually, glancing at her watch. "We've been walking a while."

"Yeah, I guess so." Spencer sounded surprised as he checked his own watch.

"Just as well, I guess. We're getting close to my place." She said.

A half-awkward silence settled between them for a moment as they continued down the street.

"I had a really nice time." Avery glanced up at the man walking beside her, clutching a travel cup of coffee, his other hand in his pocket. He smiled.

"I did, too..." He looked down at her. "Thank you." He said sincerely.

"For what?" She sipped from her own to-go cup of tea.

"For agreeing to go out with me." He said, as though stating the obvious.

"It wasn't a favor." She laughed. He looked back down to his cup. Avery bit her lip. "To be honest," she admitted candidly, "After that night we had dinner... I was hoping you'd ask me for a real date."

"You asked me." Spencer laughed quietly, not sure what to say, but feeling he should say something.

Avery nodded, glancing away in mild embarrassment.

"I would have asked you." Spencer said. "That's actually why I called you, you just... got there first." He grinned. "Honestly."

"Well, then, in the spirit of honesty," Avery chuckled, a slight edge of nervousness in her voice "I'm really hoping you'll call me again."

Spencer smiled, licking his lips to say something, but succeeding only in smiling more.

"I - I think I will." He finally stammered.

Avery smiled, nodding in the direction of a large apartment building. "This is me."

They reached the front step and stopped, standing close to each other under the narrow stone eave outside the door. Silence once again fell between them, Avery seeming to wait for something and Spencer suddenly very aware of himself.

"Um...Hm" He cleared his throat. "To continue the theme, here..." he swallowed. "I'm not really sure how third dates are supposed to end."

Avery stifled a laugh, her face flushing.

"Um," She began "Well, I think that depends... on a bunch of things, but..." She took a breath, looking up at him earnestly. "I think, in this case... maybe something like this?"

She took a step closer, reaching her face and softly touching her lips against his.

Spencer kissed back. The feeling was electric, crinkling over every inch of skin. His hand instinctively grazed along the back of her neck while hers slid around his waist and up his back. The touch was light, but kept them each rooted in place. It was as though the kiss itself was gravitational, each of them pulled into it, molten cores spinning.

Time fell away. The streetlights, the people passing on the sidewalk, the sound of leaves rustling in the trees and falling to the ground all disappeared into an eternity that lasted only a few moments.

Avery broke the kiss first, stepping back with a heavy breath, her face still flushed. Spencer exhaled sharply and cleared his throat. Each tried to find something to say. Each failed.

"uh, G-goodnight." Spencer offered, his voice cracking.

Avery nodded, swallowing hard, taking a step back and reaching for the door handle of the building "Goodnight."


	3. Chapter 3

The streets hummed with Friday night as throngs people poured in and out of buildings and bars, hailing cabs and walking to and from the subway. Spencer Reid weaved his way through the crowd. There was a rhythm in the traffic; a poetry of humanity's coming and going. Grabbing hold of life and living it to the hilt. People streamed from a subway entrance, filtering into different directions. Spencer stepped aside to avoid a couple holding hands, and felt a thud against his shoulder.

"Sorry!" A familiar voice caught his attention as he turned sharply.

"Avery?" He held out an arm instinctively to steady her.

The phone in her hand tipped the young doctor off as to the reason for the collision. She looked comfortable and casual in jeans and heels, a grey Sex Pistols T-shirt visible through her open jacket, though her makeup suggested she was heading out for the evening.

"Spencer!" She smiled in happy surprise."What are you doing out?"

"I was just out for a walk." He replied, sidestepping another couple.

"At this hour?" Avery glanced at her phone's clock.

"Just got off. It was a tough case." He said, eager to forget it. "What about you? I figured you'd be working."

Avery laughed. "I do give myself a night off occasionally."

He smiled, the feel of her kiss hanging in his memory as she looked at him with smokey eyes and ruby lips.

"Ave, there you are!"

The pair's attention was stolen by a tall, red-bearded man several paces away. He motioned to Avery to follow him.

"Hurry up, babe!" He called.

The term of endearment caught Spencer off guard, and he shifted awkwardly. Avery nodded to the man, touching the doctor's arm gently.

"Hang on." She waived her hand, calling the man over to them. "Andy!"

The man jogged a few paces, and Spencer appraised him carefully, feeling as though he had been punched in the stomach. He wasn't as tall as the doctor, but was in good shape, with a casual style in jeans and a wool pea-coat. A knit cap obscured the hair on his head, but tufts of the same fair ginger as his beard curled gently around his ear and the nape of his neck. His blue eyes were friendly and looked familiarly at Avery in a way that made Spencer feel even more out of place. Andy smiled affably at Spencer, who nodded awkwardly in return.

"This is Spencer Reid." Avery squeezed Spencer's elbow gently. "Spencer, this is Andrew Favorite."

"Nice to meet you." Andy held out a hand, which Spencer refused to take.

"I-I don't -" He stammered.

"Andy and I grew up together." Avery skimmed over the refusal casually as Andrew lowered his hand. Spencer nodded. Andy's phone chirped and he took it from his pocket.

"Raj and Amy want to know if we're coming." He informed her as he read the text.

"You go ahead. I'll be right there." Said Avery. Andy nodded, smiling vaguely at Spencer before turning and continuing down the street.

"Raj and Amy are friends of ours from uni." She informed the lanky doctor. Spencer nodded again, a tightness constricting in his chest.

"I don't want to keep you." He said stiffly, fearing he had misunderstood Avery Mitchell all along. "Have a nice night."

"Wait," She still held his arm gently. "We, uh-" She shuffled her feet, glancing down the street in the direction Andy had walked. "we get together, the four of us, a couple of times a month. We grab some drinks and go to this...really _divey_ place. We..." Avery shrugged "we play pool and darts, and do pub trivia."

Spencer shifted his weight, watching Avery as she explained.

"It's not clever, it's not interesting," Avery sounded almost embarrassed as she spoke. "and I totally get if it's not your thing, but" She took a breath. "Want to join us?"

The doctor flushed, feeling foolish, and finding a certain humor in their mutual self-consciousness.

"It's not the symphony." She shook her head, as though apologizing that every aspect of her life was not the academic endeavor she imagined his was "I mean... I'll get over-competitive, even though I'm only average at pool, and Andy will probably drink too much, and you'll probably hear some embarrassing stories... but I'd like your company... if you want."

"Do..." Spencer stifled a smile. "Do you think I live in a library or something?"

Avery cocked her head. "What?"

"Not everything is the symphony." He shrugged. "It doesn't have to – it _shouldn't_ be." He smiled gently at Avery. "I like pool. I'd like to meet your friends. I'm terrible at darts." He admitted candidly.

It was Avery's turn to feel foolish. She scuffed the toe of her heel against the pavement. "You know... together, we'd be unbeatable at pub trivia."

"What are we waiting for?" He asked, and together they turned, following Andy's steps down the street and around the corner.

* * *

"You two are never allowed to team up ever again." Amy declared, setting her tablet down forcefully and pulling her blonde hair back in frustration.

"Aw, come on." Avery goaded. "Three against two – you had a fair advantage."

"You brought in a ringer." Raj, a small but muscled man countered. "You hustled us with rain man, here."

"I would never." Avery assured in exaggerated sincerity. "Loser buys."

"Yeah, yeah." Raj took his wallet from his back pocket, standing. "But you carry."

"Fair enough." Avery stood, squeezing Spencer's shoulder. "I'll be back."

"I'll help." Amy offered, standing and following the pair to the bar, leaving Spencer and Andy sitting silently across from each other.

"You play darts?" Andy asked, standing, nodding in the direction of the faded board hung on the wall near their table.

"Pub trivia is really where my strength lies." The doctor deferred.

"Fair enough." Andy said, pulling the darts from the board and stepping back a few paces, standing near the corner of the table and where Spencer sat. The young FBI agent noticed the unconsciously mirrored phrase, the uncomfortable jealousy and self-consciousness once again tickling the pit of his stomach.

"So... how long have you known Avery?" The red-headed man asked, hefting a dart lightly in his hand as he planned his shot.

"Seven weeks, two days." Spencer answered, promptly and accurately. The dart soared in a graceful arc, landing in the board with a _thunk_.

"I've known her 14 years." Andy sideglanced Spencer seriously. "So I'm not talking out of my ass when I say I can tell she likes you."

Spencer's lips tightened and he shifted in his seat nervously, unsure of how to respond.

"Look," Andy continued, tossing another dart into the board. "She's been through a lot lately, with her mom dying and... all this other crazy shit. And Avery – she doesn't do casual flings well."

Spencer frowned. He tried his best not to profile people outside of work, but something about the man had gotten the wheels in his head turning. He listened carefully, studying body language and piecing bits of the evening together.

"I mean, I don't know what you guys've got, or whatever," Andy shrugged. "Just don't mess her around, is all I'm saying."

There was a silence as Spencer chose his words carefully.

"How long were you together?"He asked at length. Andy raised his eyebrows.

"She tell you that?"

"No." He replied truthfully.

Andy smiled benignly. "Three years. Last two in high school, and then freshman year college. It was a long time ago."

"But you love her." Spencer said.

"Like a sister." Andy assured him. "She just, uh... she's had some bad luck with guys in the past. You know this guy, Nick -" He shook his head, as if thinking better of it. "Look, that's all her business to tell you or not. I'm just... don't mess her around."

Spencer had never dated in high school, or even in college, being too young to drive let alone appeal to co-eds. If he had, he would have recognized the standard "older-brother-new-boyfriend-talk." Instead, he just considered the words silently and seriously.

"I won't." He said finally.

"Beers!" Raj called jubilantly as he and the ladies returned with filled pint glasses.

"What are you two looking so serious about?" Avery asked, sidling up to Spencer and setting a beer in front of him.

"Nothing." Andy shrugged. "Just asking your boy here if he's as good at pool as he is at trivia."

"It _is_ just geometry and physics." Spencer replied casually.

"Then maybe you can give me some pointers." Avery suggested, brushing her shoulder against his. Spencer felt his face grow warm.


	4. Chapter 4

Avery hadn't lied. She was competitive. Andy did drink too much, and Amy told enough embarrassing stories about the rest of the group that Spencer left the bar feeling he might as well have attended university with them. It was some time past midnight, but before last call, that the fun ended.

"No more trivia." Andy slurred to Spencer as Avery and her friends bundled the drunken man into a cab. "And no more pool! You'll make Avery an even bigger pain in the ass – she's impossible to live with as it is."

"Okay, you big idiot." Avery straightened and stepped aside as Raj and Amy loaded into the cab with him. "Make sure he gets home safe."

Raj waved to them as he closed the door and the cab pulled away from the curb.

"Well..." She turned to Spencer. The streets had quieted now, though the younger crowd still wandered the streets, filled with liquor-fueled stamina. "Thanks for coming out. I'm really glad you did."

"Yeah," Spencer began, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

"Oh, God," A thought struck Avery and she looked mortified. "You must be exhausted."

Spencer shrugged. "It's alright." He may not have been used to spending his evenings in bars, but he was certainly no stranger to sleepless nights. "Can I see you home?"

"Are you sure?" She asked warily, reading the sleepiness in his face.

"Yeah, I – I insist." The doctor nodded.

A smile flit across Avery's lips.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing." Avery shook her head. "It's nothing."

She hooked her arm around his as they set off. His thin frame was warm, his voice pleasant as they chatted casually.

Spencer followed as Avery unlocked the front door to her apartment building, leading him into the narrow foyer. The building was silent, outdated, but welcoming. The wallpaper shimmered in the glow of the lit sconces as the décor attempted to recreate the glamour of a much earlier decade. They crossed the foyer. Avery reached her hand out, delicately pressing the button for the elevator.

"Thanks for walking me in." She said, turning to Spencer, fiddling with her keys.

"You're welcome." The corner of the young doctor's mouth turned up slightly, his eyes turning to the floor.

"Hey," She caught his gaze again as she stepped closer, lacing her arm around his waist as she reached her head up. He met her halfway. Her lips were soft as they grazed his. He deepened the kiss, his hand tracing along the nape of her neck. She sighed, her body instinctively pulling closer to him. The gentle pressure of his kiss sent her heart racing. She pulled away, catching her breath but staying close to him, her eyes closed. "Do you... want to come up?" She asked quietly in a dry voice, her fingertips tugging lightly at the lapels of his jacket.

Spencer exhaled, taken aback by the question. "I, uh.." His mind reeled, his thoughts speeding like a train. "Who's Nick?" He heard himself blurt before he was even aware of his voice.

Avery's eyes snapped to his and she stiffened. "What?"

"I mean -" He began.

"Who told you about that?" She asked, an edge of anxious panic creeping into her voice.

"Andy mentioned -" Spencer tried to explain.

"That idiot. I'll kill him." She muttered, pulling away from him awkwardly, and again shifting her keys in her hand. She swallowed hard, avoiding eye contact. "You know, it's really late. You – you've got to be exhausted." She stammered.

"Avery," Spencer began gently, reaching for her arm. She evaded his grasp as the elevator doors dinged open and she ducked between them quickly.

"Goodnight, Spencer." She said briskly, pushing the doors-closed button.

"Avery," Spencer sidestepped helplessly, watching her disappear behind the doors. In the split second before he lost sight of her, he thought he saw the woman brush a hurried hand across her eyes.

* * *

The silence descended again as the doctor was left standing in the empty foyer.

Spencer walked cautiously through the doors of the cafe, unsure of what to expect. Avery's call had been short and apologetic, asking him to meet her. He saw her sitting toward the back of the cafe on a window seat, fingers tapping against a nearly-full ceramic mug. Her face was drawn and anxious, her eyes scanning the traffic out the window.

"Hi." He said as he approached. Avery jumped.

"Hi." She answered shakily, nodding toward the other end of the bench. "Sit?"

Spencer lay his messenger bag on the floor near the bench and took a seat next to the woman, who took a deep breath.

"I wanted to apologize." Avery studied his face as she spoke. "For the other night. I... When you asked about Nick, I... I wasn't expecting -"

"Avery," The lanky doctor interjected mildly. "Andy shouldn't have said anything. You don't have to -"

"I want to tell you." Avery insisted. She took a deep breath. "I was involved with this guy – Nick – for a while... a long while, actually... It ended... not quite a year ago." Avery swallowed. "He... It wasn't... a good relationship."

Spencer listened as she struggled with the words, her fingertips rapidly scraping against the coffee mug. Avery chewed her lower lip and continued.

"Have you ever..." She looked out the window, desperately hoping to find her thoughts in the passing traffic. "Is there any part of your life that... that you look back at, and... you just... you hate everything about who you were?"

The question took him off guard and he studied Avery's expression. It wasn't the explanation she wanted to give, but she seemed unable to elaborate.

"I... I had problem... with narcotics." He found himself saying. "Years ago. I... it's a long story, but..." He trailed off.

Avery sat in silence.

"I'm sorry." She said at length. Spencer looked at her, rolling through all of the possible meanings of the phrase, and seeing all of them in Avery's green eyes. He leaned forward, pressing his lips gently against her forehead. She sighed, her hands calming and her body relaxing in relief.

"I really quite like you." She said simply as he pulled away, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. "Coffee?"

"I'd love some." Spencer smiled.


End file.
